Apparatus and method for containing and recovering from oil spills

ABSTRACT

A novel holder/dispenser for film-form polyethylene sorbent is a serially linked chain of holders to deploy sorbent material having a high affinity for oil for rapid early containment of an expanding oil spill on open water. Following containment and cleanup of the spill, the extended sorbent film is readily reeled in for incineration or for recovery and reuse of oil therefrom.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application replaces U.S. provisional patent application no.61/405,823, filed on Oct. 22, 2010, and entitled APPARATUS AND METHODFOR CONTAINING AND RECOVERING OIL FROM OIL SPILLS.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a holder/dispenser for film-form polyethylenesorbent. In another aspect, the invention relates to a system and methodfor deploying such sorbent materials against oil spills on open water tocontain, collect and recover spilt oil.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,325 (Herkenberg) the remarkably highweight/weight pickup affinity of polyethylene film for crude oil isdescribed. That patent describes in particular the use of polyethylenefilm sheets or elongate helically wound belts for protecting shorelinewater/land areas from approaching oil spills and for early assistancethrough delaying the spread of oil on water or onto land by deploymentnear the source of an oil spill or leak. U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,325 ishereby incorporated by reference for its teachings on the properties ofpolyethylene film as a sorbent for oil.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a principal objective of the present invention to provide a systemfor rapid deployment of such substrates to surround, contain and reducethe areal extent of an oil spill on open water and to recover asignificant portion of the adsorbed oil for separation and re-use.

The system of the invention comprises at least one buoyant holder for aroll of film-form polyethylene substrate, the roll being attached to andwrapped around a hard, buoyant plastic core, such as engineeredpolypropylene. The holder has a front wall and a rear wall, an elongaterod member positioned inside the roll of sorbent, and means for fixingthe sorbent roll to the inside of the rear wall so as to preventlongitudinal motion of the roll relative to the walls of the holder androtational motion of the roll about the axis of the rod member, assorbent film is pulled away from the roll in an axial direction.

The front wall of the buoyant holder includes a central aperture throughwhich sorbent film may be pulled out of the holder in an axial(tansgential) direction, to form an elongate rope of helically twistedfilm. Means are provided for securing the core of the roll of film tothe holder, which include attachment means extending perpendicularlyfrom the outer surface of the rear wall of the holder, to tie orotherwise connect the front end of sorbent film which extends from thefront wall of a second such holder. Similar end-to-end connections aremade for subsequent adjacent pairs of holders, allowing for a sequentialfilm dispensing operation.

It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a systemfor deploying a film-form polyethylene substrate to pick up subsurfaceoil which having been broken down with dispersants has formedcontaminating masses of oil on or near the bed/floor of the body ofwater. A plurality of dispensers can be connected in series so that, inuse, when the film of one roll has been fully extended and exhaustedfrom the first holder, film will be deployed from the next holder in theseries.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In drawings which illustrate the invention:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a holder first embodimentof a substrate film holder, according to the invention, showinghelically winding film extending from the holder in the direction ofarrow A;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the holder with mounted film ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertically cross-sectional view through the long axis of theapparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view from above and to the rear of a second andcurrently preferred embodiment of a substrate film holder according tothe invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view from below and to the front of thesubstrate film holder of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view of the film holder of FIG. 5 with the roll of substrateremoved from the spindle;

FIG. 7 is a an underside view of the substrate film holder of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of the use of the invention incontaining oil spilling from a vessel on open waters;

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of a vessel for deploying freshsorbent and for picking up loaded sorbent for end processing; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of the use of a verticallyextending, bottom-weighted sheet of OILSORB™ in removing submergedaccumulations of oil.

This sequential dispensing operation is achieved by a short length ofaxially twisted film protruding through a central dispensing aperture inthe front wall of the second holder/dispenser to a central position onthe rear wall of the first holder. Similar end-to-end connections aremade for subsequent adjacent pairs of holders.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As fabricated, the OILCLING™ sorbent used in apparatus according to theinvention is a double film of high-extension (HE) polyethylene film, thetwo sheets being laminated together along their corresponding outeredges. Each sheet of the laminated film includes a plurality of smallpierces therethrough, so that in the process of adsorption, oil isadmitted between the inner faces of the component films of the sorbentdouble sheet.

OILCLING™ sorbent material may be provided in 2,000 foot rolls having anoverall diameter of 6 inches, with the film sorbent wrapped tightlyabout a hollow plastic central cylindrical core of diameter 2 inches andan end-to-end length of 10 ¼ inches. The tail edge of the sorbent rollhas been firmly attached to the buoyant core by a strong adhesive, sothat considerable tension would be required to pull the end of OILCLINGfree from the roll core once the full length has been played out in use.

(a) Holder/Dispenser for Sorbent

A particular advantageous feature of the holder-dispenser of myinvention is that a number of dispensers, each containing an axiallymounted roll of OILCLING™ sorbent (typically 2,000 feet in length) canbe operatively connected in series with a number of dispensers.

FIGS. 1 to 3 show an earlier version of a single holder-dispenser 10Ahaving a side wall 11A and parallel front and rear walls 12A and 13A,which include circular openings 14 and 15 respectively. The designation“A” simply distinguishes the first-deployed of a series of identicaldispensers 10B, 10C, etc.

A single roll 16 of OILCLING is secured in holder-dispenser 10A by meansof a rigid roll core tube 18 which is externally threaded at itsrearmost end. The roll is positioned so that tube 18 is aligned withaperture 14 and can be held in place by twisting the tube tight againstan internally threaded cap 20 which fits against the outside ofdispenser wall 13A and over circular opening 15. A flange or washer 22held firmly against the front of tube 18 by screw 22 a preventsfront-rear movement of the body of roll 16 in use.

FIGS. 4 to 7 show a currently preferred two-piece injection moldedholder-dispenser 10B having a side wall 11B with merges along the topand bottom thereof with perpendicular top and bottom part-panels 11B₁and 11B₂ which add structural support. In lieu of the rearwardlythreaded roll core tube 18 and threaded cap 20 of holder-dispenser 10A,a spindle 18B with cruciform cross-sectional shape is provided with anintegral circular retaining piece at the front end thereof which in usebears against the core of the substrate roll as best seen in FIG. 4.

In assembly, substrate roll 16 is slid on to spindle 18B and positionedwithin the walls 11B, 12B, and 13B. As with the dispenser of FIGS. 1 to3, the currently preferred version of FIGS. 4 to 7 also includes akeyhole piece 24B. Keyhole piece 24B engages the rear end of spindle 18Bby a stop-lock mechanism (not shown), operable so that a quarter-turn ofthe flat keyhole piece 24B pulls spindle 18B and the roll of sorbentcarried thereon into stabilizing abutment against wall 13B of theholder, so that undesired rotation or axial translation of the roll areprevented.

To prepare a sorbent holder 10 for deployment, the outermost layer ofthe sorbent roll at the front of the holder is pulled at its perimeterforwardly and radially inwardly through opening 12, so that a looselycoiled rope section 19A of sorbent protrudes through front aperture 14.Pulling forwardly on rope section 17 in the direction of arrow A causesthe OILCLING™ sorbent to unwind from the rear and deploy in the axialdirection with very little resistance, as the tangential film-to-filmfrictional force is very small. The pulling force is generated when theholder floats in oil-covered water and the holder is drawn by a vesselin the direction B by virtue of the oil sorption into the free end 17 ofthe sorbent.

As best seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the operative connection betweendispenser 10A and 10B is made by tying a front rope-end 19B of sorbentfrom holder/dispenser 10B through the keyhole piece 24 affixed tothreaded cap 20 of holder/dispenser 10A.

(b) Deployment of Holders to Contain an Oil Spill

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates the use of the invention in containingan oil spill. A vessel 28 whose oil containers have been breached willproduce an expanding oil spill. In FIG. 8, for a wind direction W,perimeters A, B, C, D, E and F illustrate the aerial expansion afterone, two, four, six, eight and twelve hours respectively. As illustratedin FIG. 9, an oil pick-up boat 30 equipped with a plurality ofdispensers 10A, 10B, 10C, etc. as described above proceeds at a distancearound the outermost extent F of the oil spill, deploying cumulativelengths L1, L2, L3, etc. of sorbent to surround and contain the spill.When the lines of sorbent meet the perimeter of the expanding oil spilloil is picked up by the deployed sorbent.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, boat 30 can pick up oil-laden OILCLING™sorbent at the front which can be compressed to extract and reclaim muchof the oil or the loaded OILCLING can be cut into suitable pieces forincineration.

To the rear of boat 30, a line of fresh OILCLING is laid down and theboat maneuvers in a gently decreasing spiral, picking up the spentOILCLING and laying down fresh OILCLING in patterns of decreasinglargest diameter, so that the oil is effectively hemmed in as it isbeing removed from the spill.

FIG. 8 also illustrates a helicopter 40 carrying out the same operation,deploying sequential containers 10′A, 10′B, 10′C, etc. about the spill.

(c) Capture and Pickup of Submerged Oil

In a number of recent oil spills, attempts to deal with the problem bybreaking up the oil with surfactants have not only proved ineffective,but have been found to result in partially degraded oil sinking towardthe bottom of the water. FIG. 10 schematically illustrates the method ofmy invention for dealing with oil spills of this kind with OILCLING™sorbent by arranging a generally vertical “curtain” of sorbent 16 withan array of weights 50 attached by clips or otherwise to the bottomhorizontal edge of the sorbent. This curtain extends laterally widerthan the oil spill and is impinged on the spill by the slow motion ofboats 32 and 34 which are synchronized in their motion forward tomaintain the long dimension of the curtain perpendicular to the forwardmotion.

The laminated and pierced polyethylene films are of OILCLING pickup theoil and, once laden to maximum capacity with oil the sorbent 16 can beremoved for incineration or recovery of the oil therefrom.

1. A rigid, buoyant holder/dispenser for a roll of film-formpolyethylene substrate, comprising: a supply of film-form polyethylenesubstrate in the form of a roll attached to and wrapped around a hard,buoyant plastic core; a rigid, buoyant housing having a top wall, and afront and a rear wall integral with and extending downwardly andparallel from said top wall; means for securing the sorbent roll againstan inside face of the rear wall to prevent longitudinal motion of theroll relative to the long axis of the holder, said front wall of theholder including a central aperture through which sorbent film may bepulled tangentially from the roll and out of the holder in an axialdirection, thereby forming an elongate rope of helically twisted filmsubstrate; and attachment means extending rearwardly from the housingfor connection to the front end of a helically twisted film of sorbentextending from the front wall of a second holder/dispenser.
 2. Aholder/dispenser according to claim 1, wherein said means for preventinglongitudinal and rotational motion of the roll of substrate comprises arigid roll cord tube externally threaded at its rear most end; a centralaperture through the rear wall of the holder-dispenser to receive atleast part of the threaded portion of the roll cord tube; an internallythreaded cap to receive said threading on the roll cord tube so that thetube may be secured in place by twisting the tube end tightly againstsaid cap; and a flange or washer screwed tightly against the front endof the rigid roll cord tube.
 3. A holder/dispenser according to claim 1,wherein said means for preventing longitudinal and rotational motion ofthe roll of substrate comprises: a spindle with cruciformcross-sectional shape having at the front end thereof an integralcircular retaining piece to bear against the core of a substrate rollinstalled on the spindle; and, where said attachment means is instep-wise selective locking engagement with the rear end of the spindleand is operable on tightening to pull the spindle and the roll ofsorbent carried thereon into stabilizing abutment against the rear wallof the holder.
 4. A system for deploying sorbent materials to surroundand contain oil spills on open water, comprising a plurality ofholders/dispensers according to claim 1 serially connected by tying thefirst portion of film drawn through the front aperture of oneholder/container according to claim 1 to the attachment member extendingfrom the rear wall of a like frontwardly adjacent holder/dispenser. 5.Use of a system according to claim 3 to contain an oil spill, byproviding a vessel equipped with a system of dispensers to lay down aribbon film-sorbent circumscribing the oil spill or leak.